Paid My Dues
by HellkittieXtreme
Summary: Songfic of Anastacia's killer song, Paid My Dues. Maybe this Diva isn't quite like she seems. (Rubbish Summarry, please R+R)


Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, Paid My Dues.  
  
******  
  
"Paid My Dues" by Anastacia, from the album "Freak of Nature"  
  
******  
  
By WWFDivaGirl  
  
***Originally published under my old username, it's my own work!***  
  
******  
  
A/N: ///These are Stephanie's thoughts///  
  
Set after Invasion. It's a songfic about Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's thoughts of her new business, and her life.  
  
******  
  
Please feel free to share this story with friends. All I ask is you tell them that the author is WWFDiva. Thanks. Please R+R.  
  
******  
  
You can say what you want about me  
  
Wanna do what you want to me  
  
But you cannot stop me  
  
///All my life I have been a McMahon, I've held the power, done what I want. People can be horrible, but what do I care what the world thinks? I'm a married woman. I'm rich. And I'm finally free from daddy. It was him who persuaded me to get my implants. I didn't want to, I've always been afraid of surgery, but I didn't have a choice. Still, I've beaten him now, I can do what I want. I'm free, and there is nobody on this planet going to get me back in that cage that my daddy locked me in for years. I own my own company, I've got my brother, I've got my husband, and I've got respect. ///  
  
I've been knocked down  
  
It's a crazy town  
  
Even got a punch in the face in LA  
  
Ain't nothing in the world that you keep me from doing what I wanna do  
  
///I've suffered a lot over the past few years. The world thought I was somebody I'm not. I'm constantly being bitched about, slapped, hurt in some way or another. When the crowd chant "slut!" it makes me feels so hurt. It's not my fault, it's the scriptwriters. Nobody seems to realise that the Stephanie McMahon Helmsley that they see is just a façade, a character, an image. There is a real girl behind the mask, wanting to be loved and happy. Like all girls. They didn't have to suffer what I did. What do they know about suffering? I grew up on TV, with everybody criticizing. Yet I have managed to rise above that, buying daddy's competition, and instead of crushing it, built it into an impressive arsenal to fight back, to rebel, to go against the system, to be seen for who I am.///  
  
'Cause I'm too proud, I'm too strong  
  
Life by the code that you gotta move on  
  
Feel excited for yourself  
  
and got nobody no way  
  
///Why did I do it? Why did I buy ECW? Because I can't keep living off my daddy's fame and money. That's why. Simple enough, but to the millions that watch me on TV every day, it's too hard to grasp. I want independence. I want my own money, my own fame, and mostly, my own power. The people that hide behind another's glory get nowhere in this business. Everybody knows that. There comes a time in a girl's life where she just has to do something to stand on her own two feet, and let caution to the wind. Is there anything really wrong in that?///  
  
so I...  
  
(Held my head high)  
  
Knew I (Knew I survive)  
  
Well I made it (I made it)  
  
I don't hate it (Don't hate it)  
  
That's just the way it goes  
  
Yeah  
  
///I just have to make the best of every raw deal I get. I bought a bust company, and I made it work, and I get called names. I become friendly with Angle and RVD, and I'm accused of cheating on my husband. To do well in business you have to appear confident, and if the Billion-Dollar-Princess has one thing (other than a rich daddy) it's confidence. Unless Jericho is there. I love having my own company. People respect me because of who I am and not who I am related to.///  
  
I done made it through  
  
Stand on my own two  
  
I paid my dues, yeah  
  
Tried to hold me down  
  
You can't stop me now  
  
I paid my dues  
  
///I am more powerful than I ever was before. With myself and my brother Shane, I know that I can do anything. I'm independent, I'm powerful, I don't need to rely on anyone anymore. I owe nobody anything. I can do what the hell I want. I am no longer in the cage that daddy put me in. Nobody can stop me. I've paid my dues///  
  
So like I told you  
  
You cannot stop me  
  
I paid my dues  
  
///No matter what happens, people can no longer say that I feed off my dad. I deserve respect in my own right. The scriptwriters just don't see that, keeping me locked behind an image. The crowd that chants "slut!" every night at times make me want to cry. What's wrong with tears? Showing your emotions don't make you weak, they make you strong. You can show people that that is how you are feeling, and it is their problem, not yours. But now, I'm not playing by anybody's rulebook. I'll stop at nothing to make a success of my company. ECW will win in the end. Even if they don't, I'll still be the winner, because I can now laugh in my father's face, I'm free of him.///  
  
Now I'm still tested every day  
  
people try to mess with Anastacia  
  
gotta another thing comin'  
  
cause I handle mine  
  
and I thought I better let you know  
  
///Every day, to get out into that ring with the crowd's hisses, chants and boos, that takes strength of character. By the time I've finished with the Federation, nobody will dare laugh at me again. I can handle what people throw at me. I've got real love with Hunter, I've got business support from my brother, and I know that Shane and I can dominate the Sports- entertainment business, crushing my daddy out of business. He held me prisoner in his box of tricks for too long, now, the obedient princess is going to play dirty. There's still one more thing that daddy doesn't know yet. He's not the sole pinnacle of sports-entertainment. I'm going to get the last laugh.///  
  
I'm no punk I can't get down  
  
I don't give a damn about who's around  
  
that was just fine 'til now  
  
///I'm not a mean girl, or a vicious girl. I'm not in the mood to party. I mean business. I don't care who I have to fight to get the respect I deserve, the respect daddy removed from me with his plots, storylines, wrestlers… he stole my glory, my honesty, my innocence, and I didn't think that much of it. Now, I don't care how many of his cronies I have to fight. Me and my boys will win. I don't give a damn, I'm not going to give up on my dream: Respect.///  
  
So I...  
  
(Held my head high)  
  
Knew I (Knew I survive)  
  
Well I made it (I made it)  
  
Oahh (Don't hate it)  
  
That's just the way it goes  
  
Yeah  
  
I done made it through  
  
Stand on my own two  
  
I paid my dues  
  
Yeah yeah  
  
Tried to hold me down  
  
you can't stop me now  
  
I paid my dues, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
  
///I owe daddy nothing. It was his fault. I saw an opportunity to break out of the box he had put me in, tear off the label he had given me, and stand on my own two feet. If you had that choice, you would do it too, wouldn't you? Why does everyone hate me for trying to get a shred of independence from my daddy? All I am trying to do is make money my own way, fight with MY friends, with my brother. I really regretted hitting mom. She did nothing to hurt me, but it was daddy's idea. Despite the fact I was independent, he was still manipulating me. But soon, I will be free of him. Soon.///  
  
Took so long to get me here  
  
But I won't live in fear  
  
You try to steal my shine  
  
But first they wanna build you up  
  
Then they tear you down  
  
It's a struggle, you try to bubble  
  
///I must be the only girl in the world who wishes that she wasn't born into extreme wealth. I had to fight the system for all my life, and I've finally beaten it. How long did it take, though? It took until long past my wedding day. Now I have no reason to fear my parents. I'm my own power, my own ruler. Nobody can boss around Stephanie McMahon Helmsley any more. I'm pretty, but instead of being allowed to compete as a single, daddy put my looks on his arm. I accompanied him to the ring, I accompanied Test to the ring, I hardly ever got the opportunity to fight, the only reason I came into the WWF. He made me into a big star, but why? So that he would have a pretty girl to accompany him to the ring. Thank you, daddy, you make me feel so WANTED. Not. I had to fight for all of my independence. But I will come out on top.///  
  
so I...  
  
(Held my head high)  
  
Knew I (Knew I survive)  
  
Oh (I made it)  
  
(Don't hate it)  
  
Said that's just the way  
  
///The one thing that I want in the world is to receive applause. If only once, I want to be I the limelight with people clapping and cheering for ME, not my husband, my dad, my brother, my boyfriend, my wrestler, I just want a shred of respect. No matter how tiny, the world seems set against me for trying to make a success of myself. That's the way life goes, though. People laugh at you because you try to get what they want.///  
  
(I done made it through)  
  
(Stand on my own two)  
  
I said I paid my, I paid my dues  
  
Yeah  
  
(Tried to hold me down)  
  
But you can't stop me now (you can't stop me now)  
  
(I paid my dues) I paid my, paid my dues  
  
(I done made it through) oh  
  
(Stand on my own two) oh  
  
(I paid my dues) I paid my, I paid my dues  
  
yeah  
  
(Tried to hold me down)  
  
But you can't stop me now (you can't stop me now)  
  
(I paid my dues) I paid my dues  
  
///I paid my dues, but to the fans, it was never enough. That's why I was found in a hotel room. That's why the white carpet had turned crimson. That's why mascara had ran down my cheeks. That's why I stole a knife from the cafeteria. That's why I wrote a note to Hunter, telling him I loved him. That's why the sentence is in the past tense, because Stephanie McMahon Helmsley is no more. Just remember, every heel in the business deserves your respect just as much as every babyface. Or you may just read about some other star who gave their life for you, only to be spat at in the face./// 


End file.
